The evolution of graphics processors has profoundly changed over the last 20 years. The first specialized graphics architectures were almost purely fixed-function and could only accelerate a very limited range of computation such as geometry or lighting transformations. Programmable shaders gave developers new levels of capabilities, but with allocated functionality. Unified shaders offered dynamic load balancing and advanced branching. … Read more
AMD announced the Radeon RX 5500 series GPU based on their RDNA gaming architecture and promising the ultimate in high-performance, high-fidelity 1080p gaming. The company claims the Radeon RX 5500 series provides up to 37% faster performance on average than the competition in select titles at 1080p, supercharging top AAA and eSports games. Acer, HP, Lenovo, and MSI to … Read more
Intel made a few significant and interesting announcements at the 2019 supercomputer conference (SC19) in Denver. The company officially launched its OneAPI, a unified and scalable programming model for heterogeneous computing architectures. Announced a general-purpose GPU-based on the X architecture, code-named “Ponte Vecchio.” claiming it is optimized for HPC/AI acceleration Revealed additional architectural details of the exascale Aurora Supercomputer at Argonne … Read more
The PC GPU market is multi-segmented over several platforms and multiple market categories. Therefore, it is not possible to make summary assumptions and predictions about GPUs because a GPU is not a single thing. This is an overview of the GPU market. It is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather one of our regular updates on the topic. … Read more
A group of enthusiasts is proposing a new set of graphics instructions designed for 3D graphics and media processing. These new instructions are built on the RISC-V base vector instruction set. They will add support for new data types that are graphics specific as layered extensions in the spirit of the core RISC-V ISA. Vectors, transcendental math, pixel, and textures … Read more
The global image sensors market was valued at US$ 14.27 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach a value of US$ 26.57 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 11%, during the forecast period 2019–2024. Due to the growing demand for smartphones, security cameras, high-definition cameras, and camcorders, the image sensors market is expected to record steep growth during … Read more
TensorFlow is a free and open-source software library for dataflow and differentiable programming across a range of tasks. It is a symbolic math library and is also used for machine learning applications such as neural networks—i.e., finding cats. Imagination Technologies designs GPUs and sells the designs in the form of IP libraries allowing anyone with access to a fab to … Read more
Intel has tried several times to get into the stand-alone graphics chip market. Its first attempt in 1982 was the cross-licensing of the NEC 7220, which became the Intel 82720. Then in 1983, Intel made the iSBX 275 Multibus-based add-in graphics board (AIB) with the chip. Its second attempt was in 1988 when it released the 82786, which it billed as … Read more
Everybody dance now: the Intel machine seems back on track Intel released their third-quarter results (see TechWatch, Intel Q3 2019 results) and reported record results. In the analyst call, Intel’s CEO Bob Swan said the company is on target to return to a schedule of major manufacturing upgrades every 2 to 2.5 years. In addition, Swan said, “We are on … Read more
Unless you’ve been in a coma on Easter island, you know Intel is going to enter the discrete GPU market in 2020 with its highly scalable Xe architecture. Making such an announcement, with or without slides, is the easy part—takes about 30 seconds. The rest is a long, long pipeline. In addition to all the steps one must take from … Read more
The latest market data (from IHS)shows Acer ranked as the number one supplier, worldwide, for gaming monitors in 1H’19 with 15.7% market share and 81% year-on-year (YoY) growth. In North America, Acer also took the no. 1 spot during 1H’19 with 27.8% retail gaming market share, and in Canada with a 24.2% market share (source: NPD). The success of … Read more
While Intel struggles to get the yield on 10 nm up to acceptable levels, TSMC, which is already shipping 7-nm parts to AMD, Qualcomm, and others, has built a 5-nm fab and is now getting a site ready for a 3-nm fab. Europeans consider hair with a diameter of 0.04 to 0.06 mm as thin, hair with a diameter between 0.06 and 0.08 mm … Read more
